{{Short description|Island in Corral Bay, Chile}} {{Infobox islands | name = Mancera Island | native_name = Isla Mancera<!-- or local name to remove the "native name:" prefix --> | sobriquet = <!-- or nickname --> | image_name = Isla Mancera con nubes.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = Mancera Island, view from Niebla, Chile | image_alt = | map_image = Txu-oclc-224571178-sj18-16.jpg | map_caption = Regional map | location = | coordinates = {{coord|39|53|26|S|73|23|36|W|display=title,inline}} | archipelago = | waterbody = Valdivia River | total_islands = | major_islands = | area_km2 = <!-- or area m2 or area ha --> | area_footnotes = | rank = | length_m = 1,300<!-- or length m --> | length_footnotes = | width_m = 650<!-- or width m --> | width_footnotes = | coastline_km = <!-- or coastline m --> | coastline_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_footnotes = | highest_mount = 89<!--name--> | country = Chile | country_admin_divisions_title = Region | country_admin_divisions = Los Ríos | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Province | country_admin_divisions_1 = Valdivia | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Commune | country_admin_divisions_2 = Valdivia | demonym = | population = 53<ref>{{Cite web | title=INE - Demografía - Demografia y Vitales | url=http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/demografia_y_vitales/demografia/demografia.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210193825/http://www.ine.cl:80/canales/chile_estadistico/demografia_y_vitales/demografia/demografia.php | access-date=2025-06-27 | archive-date=2006-12-10}}</ref> | population_as_of = 2002 | density_km2 = | density_footnotes = | ethnic_groups = | website = | additional_info = }} '''Mancera Island''' ({{langx|es|Isla Mancera}}) is a minor island at the mouth of Valdivia River in Corral Bay.
Prior to being named after the Marquis of Mancera the island was known as ''Güiguacabin'' (from ''ühueñn'', "whistle", or ''ühua'', "maize", and ''cahuin'', "party") to the indigenous Mapuches. In his 1544 expedition Juan Bautista Pastene, made the island known for the Spanish and named it ''Imperial''. Later the island became known to the Spanish as ''Constantino'' after its owner Constantino Pérez, then it was known for a time as ''Santa Ines''. The name finally settled as Mancera after the Spanish viceroy of Peru Pedro de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Mancera, who ordered the fortification of the island.<ref name=Bernales>{{cite journal |last=Bernales Lillo |first=Mario |date=1984 |title=Aspectos diacrónicos en la toponimia de Valdivia |url=http://www.anales.uchile.cl/index.php/ANUC/article/viewFile/23061/24411 |journal=Anales de la Universidad de Chile |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=79–94 |language=es }}</ref> The fort in Mancera Island begun to be built in 1646 receiving the names ''Castillo de San Pedro de Alcántara de Mancera'' or simply ''Castillo de Mancera''.<ref name=Consejo>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-historicos/castillo-mancera|title=Castillo de Mancera|access-date=2021-04-18|website=cmn.cl|publisher=Consejo de monumentos nacionales de Chile}}</ref> The fort was a vital point in the Valdivian Fort System, allowing with the aid of the forts in Corral and Niebla to crossfire any ship attempting to sail upstream to the city of Valdivia.<ref name=museoniebla2>{{Cite news|url=https://www.museodeniebla.gob.cl/643/w3-article-96189.html?_noredirect=1|title=Patrimonio a un clic: Un vigilante en la bahía de Corral|access-date=2020-04-07|website=Museo de Sitio Castillo de Niebla|publisher=Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural|language=es|quote=Además del castillo de Niebla, el sistema incluía castillos en las cercanías de Corral y Amargos y en la isla de Mancera, todos diseñados para estar a una distancia de fuego cruzado entre sí.}}</ref>
In 1682, after Valdivia was badly damaged by a fire it was proposed to move the city to Mancera Island. A similar proposal of moving the city to Mancera Island was done in 1721 in order to protect it against a potential British attack as Spain and Britain were at war.<ref>{{cite book|last=Montt Pinto|first=Isabel|url=http://www.buscalibros.cl/libros.php?c=226|year=1971|publisher=Editorial Francisco de Aguirre|title=Breve Historia de Valdivia|language=es|page=43|access-date=2014-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218034335/http://www.buscalibros.cl/libros.php?c=226|archive-date=2007-02-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> As result of the partial, and eventually reversed move of Valdivia to the island, in the 18th century Mancera Island achieved for a while an upsurge of population and the establishment of numerous buildings made of bricks and wood.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historia de Valdivia|last=Guarda Geywitz|first=Fernando|publisher=Imprenta Cultura|year=1953|location=Santiago de Chile|pages=150|language=Spanish|author-link=Gabriel Guarda}}</ref> At its height in the 18th century, the fort had twenty cannons and hosted one church and two convents.<ref name=Consejo/> The decline in importance of Mancera Island in the fort system meant that by 1820, when Corral Bay was attacked by Patriots, it hosted only a small garrison and one battery of six cannons.<ref>Angulo, S.E. (1997). "La Artillería y los Artilleros en Chile. Valdivia y Chiloé como antemural del Pacífico". ''Militaria: revista de cultura militar'', 10, pp. 237-264</ref>
<gallery mode=packed> File:Fachada de iglesia franciscana en Mancera.jpg|Ruins of the Franciscan convent in the island File:Corralmancera.JPG|Position of Mancera Island in Corral Bay. View from Corral. File:Muelle_de_Mancera.JPG|Pier of Mancera Island </gallery>
==See also== * Valdivian Fort System * Capture of Valdivia
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Islands of Los Ríos Region Category:River islands of Chile Category:Coasts of Los Ríos Region
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